IMPACT OF COMPUTERS ON LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION OF NIGERIAN FEMALE TYPISTS

Women’s work force in Nigerian labor market is diversified but their use of computers is insignificant. Percentages of females who use personal computers in the Nigerian word processing industry are negligible. Consequently, many skilled professionals are displaced, and marginalized as typewriters became obsolete. This study demonstrates how computers have induced structural displacement of labor in sectors such as the word processing industry. Specifically, it addresses the displacement of female typists as independent word processors resulting in their underemployment and/or unemployment and decreased incomes. Limited literature exists on the position of Nigerian female typists and the impact of computers on their labor force participation (LFP). The study also examines the identification and extent of the economic costs of fifty female typists who transitioned from a former technology to a current one.

Stratified sampling method was used to divide Nsukka town into four major clusters to select the final sample of 50 female typists interviewed. Questionnaires were distributed personally. Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) was used for analyzing the data. Frequency tables and charts were generated to present the data. Chi-square (X2) test of homogeneity of populations was used to investigate the nature of the relationships in the study. The study showed that overall computer literacy is low and very few of these typists who are at the lowest poverty and support levels enroll in computer training programs. The female typists’ human capital investment was inefficiently utilized due to lack of access to computers. Results further revealed that while using typewriters they financed their education, purchased and maintained their machines, their skills remained viable. Many families suffered economic losses as child labor utilization impacted negatively on the societal pattern.

Suggested solutions include re-preparation and re-training of these females by replacing typewriters with the computers to empower them and upgrade their economic status. The most logical progression was to enable and encourage such self-reliant individuals to transition into new technology phase with economic support of governmental agencies, banks, institutions of higher learning and private corporations, thus gradually redressing existing gaps. Transformation from obsolete typewriter technology to modern personal computers would assist females to achieve increased economic independence. This study contributes to our understanding of the impact of computers on Nigerian female typists. It also enhances the ability to plan effectively to increase the number of females with computer skills and greater productivity.